Beverly Hills Unified School board president arrested on suspicion of battery

The board president of the Beverly Hills Unified School District was arrested Monday night after he allegedly knocked down a young neighbor amid a heated dispute.

In an interview with the L.A. Times on Tuesday, Brian Goldberg insisted he didn't push -- but bumped into -- the 18-year-old woman.

Goldberg, 42, was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery at the Beverly Hills jail and released Tuesday morning with a citation, police Sgt. Max Subin said.

It all started about 7:45 p.m. Monday with an argument between Goldberg and the woman, who lives with her family in a neighboring condominium in the 200 block of Tower Drive, Subin said.

The argument was over Goldberg's unsafe driving, Lt. Lincoln Yoshino said. The woman alleged that Goldberg shoved her while they were in the elevator and hurt her head. When the elevator door opened, he shoved her again, knocking her to the ground, he said.

The botched rollout of a new billing system at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power disrupted the utility's ability to collect unpaid bills, helping to drive the total to $681 million late last year, a state audit of the system has found.

Customer confusion over late and estimated bills...

(Catherine Saillant)

Police were called and Goldberg was taken into custody. The 18-year-old suffered minor injuries, including pain to her head and shoulder, and was treated by paramedics, Yoshino said. Officers observed injuries to the woman, he added.

Goldberg is expected to appear in court on May 4.

Goldberg told The Times that the confrontation was part of a long-standing dispute with his neighbors.

“We have had bad blood with these neighbors for some time,” he said.

He and his wife have called police multiples times about alleged disturbances at their neighbor’s apartment. He said he had heard screaming and crying. Goldberg said he was confronted by these same neighbors after calling police.

Goldberg thought he was “doing the right thing” by calling police, but he said little action had been taken.

On Monday night, he said he was driving "a little too fast" in the parking garage when the woman confronted him over his driving.

Trying to avoid speaking to her, Goldberg said he “disengaged” and slipped into an elevator. He claimed she stopped the elevator from moving and refused to allow him to leave, so he bumped into her as he exited.

“I felt that she was keeping me hostage in the elevator,” he said.

He is hoping surveillance footage from cameras throughout the building will corroborate his story.

“I just hope people will wait," he said, "until all the facts come out.”